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3 July 2014 – Israeli incitement against Palestinians

10 July 2014 by

Excellency,

I regret to inform you that since our letter of yesterday, 2 July 2014, Israel, the occupying Power, has continued with its campaign of military aggression against the Palestinian people, assaulting the Gaza Strip with more air strikes, causing more death and injury to Palestinian civilians, and persisting with excessive use of lethal force against Palestinians, including children, in large-scale military raids and attacks against civilian protesters throughout the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem. Tensions continue to rise dramatically as a result of the aggressions being perpetrated by the occupying forces and settlers against the Palestinian civilian population as well as the constant incitement to violence and terror against Palestinians by Israeli government officials, settlers and other extremists.

Yesterday, 2 July, Israeli occupying forces killed Yousef Ibrahim Ahmed Ibn Gharra, 20, who was returning to his home in the Jenin refugee camp after buying foodstuffs for his family. The killing of Yousef by three bullets to the heart, left shoulder and forearm by a so-called Israeli undercover unit, brings the total number of Palestinians killed since 12 June 2014 to 12 people, including a small child.

The extremely fragile situation in the Occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, is worsening and risks further destabilization due to this continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.  We renew our call on the international community, particularly the Security Council, to uphold its obligations under the Charter and under international law, including international humanitarian law as it pertains to the rights and protection of civilians in armed conflict, including foreign occupation.  We reiterate that the Palestinian civilian population under Israel’s occupation must be guaranteed protection and cannot remain the exception to the responsibility to protect civilians from atrocities and flagrant breaches of the law.

In addition, I write today to convey the Palestinian leadership’s grave concern and total condemnation of Israeli incitement to violence and terror against the Palestinian people.  Such reckless behavior, deliberately aimed at terrorizing and causing harm to our people, is seriously heightening tensions and risks the further unraveling of the already fragile situation.

In this regard, I must draw attention to the Israeli social media campaigns calling for the murder of Palestinians.  One of these social media campaigns was posted on the website of Facebook which was entitled, “The People of Israel demand Vengeance” which gained over 36,000 “likes” in just under two days before being removed.  The page had numerous photos of Israeli soldiers, among them those currently serving in the occupying forces in Palestine, who posted pictures of themselves with their weapons demanding revenge with comments that include, but are not limited to, “blood-blood we want revenge”, “let us mow them down”, “we want blood”, and “hating Arabs is not racism, it’s values!”.  It should be noted that, just days prior to this latest racist online campaign, the Israeli prime minister himself was quoted as reciting a verse from an Israel poem, stating: “such vengeance for blood of babe and maiden hath yet to be wrought by Satan…”, a verse interpreted today as promoting a fierce revenge for murder.

It should be placed on record that this is not the first time Israelis have used social media outlets to spew repugnant racist remarks and incite violence and terror against the occupied Palestinian population.    In April, a Facebook page created to support an Israeli soldier who aimed his gun at Palestinian teenagers garnered 60,000 “likes”. Such incitement on social media highlights the dangerous, violent and racist sentiment harbored by many Israelis towards Palestinians, a sentiment that is promoted by some of Israel’s governmental officials, who actively foster a toxic atmosphere by condoning and encouraging violence against Palestinians and repeatedly making declarations of incitement.  It is also fostered by the fact that Israeli governmental officials continue to fail to bring to justice the perpetrators of violence and hate crimes against Palestinians.

The continuation of such racist, hate-filled action will only worsen the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, further stoking anger and rage and deepening mistrust.  We call on the international community to strongly condemn all forms of Israeli incitement as well as the hate crimes that continue to be perpetrated against Palestinian civilians, and compel Israel to take swift action against the perpetrators and bring them to justice. We reiterate that the current dangerous situation requires urgent attention and serious action by the international community, including the Security Council, in accordance with its responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, before it deteriorates further with untold consequences.

This letter is in follow-up to our 501 letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine.  These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 2 July 2014 (A/ES-10/xxx-S/2014/xxx) constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000.  For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter made available to the members of the Security Council for their immediate and valuable consideration.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

 

Filed Under: Identical Letters

2 July 2014 – Kidnapping and Killing of 16 YR old Palestinian –

10 July 2014 by

Excellency,

I must once again call your urgent attention to the dangerous escalation and rising tensions on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, due to the ongoing Israeli aggression and inhumane acts against the Palestinian civilian population.

In grave breach of international law, including its obligations as an occupying Power in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel continues to deliberately launch military raids and attacks, including air strikes, against Palestinian civilian areas, causing loss of life, injury and destruction of civilian homes and properties, and continues to recklessly incite further violence against the Palestinian civilians, resulting in intensifying acts of terror and racist hate crimes by illegal Israeli settlers as well as other Israeli extremists against Palestinian civilians, including children.  The international community, especially the Security Council, cannot remain silent as Israel, and its terrorist settlers, continue with their aggression, wreaking death, destruction and terror on the Palestinian people under its occupation.

In this regard, I regret to inform you that, yesterday, 1 July 2014, at approximately 3:45 am (Palestine time) in the town of Beit Hanina in occupied East Jerusalem, a 16-year-old boy, Mohammed Hussein Abu Khdeir, was sitting on a wall outside the mosque waiting for dawn prayers that start the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan, was abducted and later brutally murdered by Israeli extremists.  According to witnesses and surveillance cameras, two Israeli settlers pulled up in gray car and violently forced young Mohammed into their car.  A couple of hours later, the body of Mohammed was found in a forested area of the city, his small body burnt and showing signs of severe violence perpetrated against him.

 

The Palestinian Government condemns in the strongest terms the kidnapping, torture and burning of Mohammed Abu Khdeir by terrorist Israeli settlers.  We hold the Israeli government responsible for this atrocious crime and the culture of impunity in which Israeli settler terrorists have so vilely and continuously assaulted Palestinian civilians and properties. We call on the international community, in particular the Security Council, to clearly and unequivocally condemn the brutal kidnapping and killing of Mohammed.

Moreover, the Security Council must call on Israel, the occupying Power, to act immediately and tangibly to cease all violations against the Palestinian people, including all acts of collective punishment and reprisals, including incitement of reprisals, which are prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Security Council has a responsibility to contribute to the de-escalation of this grave situation, including by demonstrating its commitment to universal human rights by publicly condemning this latest crime by Israeli terrorist settlers, calling for respect of international law and calling for restraint. Israel, the occupying Power, which bears full responsibility for placing its civilians on Occupied Palestinian Territory, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, must also unequivocally condemn this heinous act and hold the perpetrators accountable and bring them to justice.

The killing of Mohammed is not the only attempt by Israeli terrorist settlers to cause death and injury to the unprotected Palestinian civilian population.  In this regard, just twenty-four hours before Mohammed’s brutal killing, terrorist settlers kidnapped and assaulted 8 year-old Musa Zalom in Jerusalem, who was saved by Palestinian civilians in the neighborhood. Also, 9-year-old Sanabel Al-Tous remains in critical condition after an Israeli settler ran her over with his car and threw her little body on the side of the road, leaving her there to die.

Such horrific acts by terrorist Israeli settlers come amidst an outburst of virulent anti-Arab racism in Israel, fueled by the direct incitement and declarations by Israeli government officials against the Palestinian people.  In this connection, I must draw your attention to the fact that hundreds of Israelis rampaged through the streets of Jerusalem yesterday, violently assaulting at least five Palestinians, while chanting hateful and violent slogans such as “death to Arabs.”  At least two other Palestinians were physically assaulted by Israelis in hate crime incidents in other parts of Jerusalem in this escalating environment of violence.

Moreover, Israeli occupying forces have been relentlessly carrying out vicious acts of military aggression against the Palestinian population, committing wide scale violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, including blatant measures of collective punishment.  Yesterday, 1 July 2014, in the early morning hours, Israeli war planes bombed more than 35 so-called “targets” in the besieged Gaza Strip, where more than 1.7 million Palestinians have been imprisoned for eight years under Israel’s illegal, immoral blockade.  This latest barrage of airstrikes caused destruction to civilian property and infrastructure and intensified fear and panic among the Palestinian civilian population, where more than 50 percent are children under 18 years of age.

The occupying forces also continued apace with the military aggression against the Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.  Israeli occupying forces demolished the family homes belonging to the two Palestinians who Israel has accused of allegedly carrying out the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli settlers.  All such measures taken by the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied State of Palestine are clearly a part of the collective punishment policy and reprisals against Palestinian civilians in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates that: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.”

The grave situation before us requires urgent attention and serious action by the international community before the situation on the ground further destabilizes and unravels.  The Security Council must uphold its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.  It must reaffirm its rejection of all Israel’s criminal acts and illegal, violent and provocative actions taken against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  Moreover, it must be recalled that the Palestinian people who are so gravely suffering under Israel’s more than 47-year military occupation are entitled to protection under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. We thus reiterate that the international community, including the Security Council, cannot remain silent or continue only expressing regret or disappointment with Israel’s violations. It is the responsibility of the international community to put an end to these crimes by the occupying Power and this begins with holding Israel accountable for all of its actions in accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions. The Palestinian people cannot remain the exception to this responsibility to protect civilians from such atrocities and flagrant breaches of the law.

This letter is in follow-up to our 500 letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine.  These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 30 June 2014 (A/ES-10/xxx-S/2014/xxx) constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000.  For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter distributed as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Filed Under: Identical Letters

UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IN NAIROBI

02 July 2014 by
UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIANS PEOPLE REVIEWS
SOCIOECONOMIC, HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY

Ambassador Mansour participating in the UN Seminar in Nairobi Nairobi Seminar

The first plenary session of the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, began with a presentation by Maria-Jose Torres-Macho, Deputy Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

During the session, entitled “The socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in Palestine”, Ms. Torres-Macho addressed the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip through indicators, such as livelihoods and economy, housing and shelter, access to services and assistance, education, health, water and sanitation, electricity and physical insecurity.

She said the already dire situation in Gaza had taken a dramatic turn for the worse since the closure of the network of tunnels from Egypt, while the sea blockade had affected between 3,000 and 5,000 people who relied on fisheries, as well as the enclave’s economy as a whole. The restricted area next to the barrier fence coincided with Gaza’s best arable land, where all its greenhouses, as well as citrus and other fruits, were previously located. Gaza’s exports were limited to strawberries sent to the Netherlands as part of a cooperation project with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), she said, noting Israeli claims that other exports could not be allowed for security reasons.

The Gaza situation was characterized by growing constraints in terms of livelihoods and economy, she said. The latest statistics produced by the Palestinian Bureau for Statistics showed that 41 per cent of Gaza’s people were unemployed, with the poverty level at 39 per cent. Some 57 per cent of residents were food insecure, and as a result, 80 per cent of the 1.9 million Gazans were receiving food aid, which was quite striking since the rate of development in the enclave had been quite vibrant before the blockade.

In terms of housing and shelter, there was a shortage of 70,000 housing units due to natural population growth, as well as the damage caused by Israel’s 2009 “Operation Cast Lead”, she said, adding that 12,000 people remained displaced after the destruction of their homes. Overcrowded schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or the Ministry of Education operated double shifts. Some 250 more schools were to be built to accommodate the growing population.

On health care, she said there was a lack of basic drugs and essential disposables in Gaza, partly due to Palestinian Authority budget shortfalls and allocation priorities between the West Bank and Gaza. Owing to restrictions in April, only seven patients had crossed into Egypt, compared to 7,000 a month in 2013. Only very sick people or special cases were able to enter Egypt.

Concerning electricity, she said there were ongoing power cuts and the Gaza power plant was on the verge of running out of fuel, which would affect the basic operation of clinics and the running of sewage and water systems. That would force the use of reserve generators. Fuel supplies provided by were running out, and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was engaged in dialogue with Ramallah on how to provide fuel for critical sectors. As for physical security, there was always collateral damage affecting civilians, even when Israel carried out strikes against alleged military targets.

Turning to the West Bank, she said the territory’s population now stood at 2.7 million, she said the division of land after the Oslo Accords of 1993-1994 had changed the way in which land was administered, and areas of the West Bank had been assigned to various categories — A, B and C. Palestinian movement was limited by the need to get Israel’s approval, and the lifting of such restrictions would significantly improve the West Bank economy — by 30 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) — and access to land, homes and livelihoods was very difficult for Palestinians.

She went on to say that Area E1 near Jerusalem was surrounded by two blocks of settlements, and 200 Bedouin communities there would have to be relocated, according to Israel. The relocation area has been identified and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was currently focusing on that. The way forward was not only about meeting basic needs, but also about protecting fundamental human rights, she emphasized, noting that the global financial crisis had affected the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ funding, reducing its reach in terms of providing assistance.

Robert Turner, Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza, addressed the Seminar via video link, describing the situation in Gaza as environmentally, economically and politically unsustainable. While the international community faced a multitude of humanitarian crises in various other parts of the world, the man-made Gaza case had been entirely preventable. In seven years since Israel’s imposition of the blockade, Gaza had gone from well-rounded middle-income economy to a situation in which most of the population relied on the United Nations for food.

Gaza faced some very significant environmental challenges in the medium term, he continued, the most serious of which was the availability of drinking water. Less than 10 per cent was safe for drinking, but it was getting worse by the day. That problem could be resolved by desalination, but that required power, he said, describing the power situation as “very dire”. Power was off for 15 to 16 hours a day due to the unavailability of fuel.

He went on to note that Gaza’s economy was in its eighth year under Israel’s blockade. Agriculture, food processing and textile production had been affected because of a shortage of materials and the lack of access to markets. Construction materials had previously come in through the tunnels but after the closure of that operation, unemployment rates had increased. No salaries had been paid to the de facto Government’s 40,000 employees for the last three months, he said, warning that disgruntled former workers were a potential source of instability, while the ongoing governance vacuum threatened to dissolve into chaos.

Mounir Kleibo, Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Jerusalem, gave a brief description of current employment challenges in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, saying: “It is not an easy time to be a young man or woman in the Palestinian labour market today.” Unemployment was high, particularly for college-educated women, and thousands were forced to work in Israel or in the settlements. Agricultural productivity had declined, affecting both GDP and unemployment rates. On the situation of Palestinian women in the labour force, he said their participation rate during the first quarter of 2014 had stood at 17.3 per cent, one of the lowest in the region. Those lacking skills held menial positions with compensation that did not meet the minimum wage and no compensation for overtime work, while participation in the labour force by women with university degrees was the lowest in the world.

On youth, he said that 70 per cent of the Palestinian population was under the age of 30, adding that only 49 per cent of young men aged 15 to 24 participated in the labor force compared to 8.8 per cent of young women. The unemployment rate for young men was 36.9 per cent, while that of women was 64.7 per cent. Additionally, the youth labour market in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was profoundly influenced by gender, he said, noting that the local economy could absorb less than 10 per cent of some 40,000 university graduates. The education system did not equip graduates with the necessary skill sets, he added.

He went on to state that Palestinians worked for Israelis under conditions based on a quota and permit system. Working in Israeli settlements was not a choice but a necessity for Palestinian workers. Men worked in construction and the industrial sector, while women did agricultural or domestic work. The latter were particularly exposed to abusive practices by labour brokers, including excessive fees or wage deductions and sexual violence. Workers were also exposed to occupational safety risks, as well as hazardous and humiliating conditions without adequate protection.

Concerning children and persons with disabilities, he said the majority of child labour cases were found in agriculture. Persons with disabilities faced great impediments and obstacles to integration into the labor market. East Jerusalem also faced severe challenges caused by the erection of the separation wall, inadequate public transport services and the enforcement of strenuous checkpoint procedures. Area C, where more than half the land in the West Bank was located, much of it agricultural and resource-rich, was inaccessible to Palestinians. Yet, were economic activity to be liberalized, it would have a particularly high impact on the development of businesses in agriculture, as well as in the exploitation of Dead Sea minerals, stone mining and quarrying, construction, tourism and telecommunications.

Fahd Abu Saymeh, Financial and Administrative Director of the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem, examined the economic costs of the occupation, saying it imposed myriad restrictions on the Palestinian economy. It prevented Palestinians from accessing much of their lands and exploiting most of their natural resources; isolated Palestinians from global markets; and fragmented their territory into small, poorly connected “islands”. As recently highlighted by international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the occupation impeded any prospects for sustainable economic growth.

John Clarke, Chief of the Coordination Unit in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, emphasized that improving the situation on the ground would mean, not only continuing advocacy on movement, access and other enabling measures, but also working to scale up and improve international programming, including the estimated $1 billion implemented annually through the United Nations. Noting that United Nations programming had always provided essential support for Palestinian State-building, he said it had taken on even greater importance following the formation of the Government of National Consensus, which would abide by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) commitments on recognition of Israel, non-violence and adherence to previous agreements. The reconciliation held out the prospect of reuniting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under a single legitimate Palestinian authority. “We have already indicated our support to those efforts, including by addressing the increasing political, security, humanitarian and economic challenges in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “The UN will continue to engage with the newly appointed Government of National Consensus in order to improve conditions for Palestinians while continuing our political work with the parties.”

– See more at: http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/47d4e277b48d9d3685256ddc00612265/c5ae24a9120ed12685257d09004b6720?OpenDocument#sthash.xhwPddqd.dpuf

Filed Under: Palestine Programmes

30 June 2014 – Israeli aggression and collective punishment of the Palestinian People

02 July 2014 by

Excellency,

I regret to inform you that Israel is escalating its military assaults and human rights violations against the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied State of Palestine.  In the past several days, air strikes and excessive force by the occupying Power have caused death and injury to more Palestinian civilians, including children, especially in the besieged Gaza Strip.   It should be stated that the intensification of Israel’s aggression against the Occupied State of Palestine threatens to further destabilize the situation on the ground and to fully ignite yet another round of deadly violence. This demands the attention of the international community, particularly the Security Council, which is duty-bound to act to maintain international peace and security.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Identical Letters Tagged With: , , , , , ,

23 June 2013 – Letter from H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine to H.E. Secretary-General of the United Nations on Israeli violations in the OPT

02 July 2014 by

Excellency, 

 

I write concerning the large-scale offensive assault launched by Israel, the occupying Power, against Palestinian civilians across the occupied West Bank. Since three settlers, illegally transferred by the occupying Power to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, went missing on 13 June 2014, the occupying Power has taken the Palestinian population hostage. For over a week now, Israeli occupation forces have waged an unrelenting and wide-scale campaign against Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, subjecting the civilian population to a litany of abuses and punitive measures, including a ban on travel for Palestinians residing in Hebron, the largest Palestinian Governorate, home to approximately 800,000 residents.    [Read more…]

Filed Under: Identical Letters Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

25 June 2014

25 June 2014 by

فلسطين تمارس صلاحياتها كدولة طرف في اتفاقية حقوق الطفل

 

          عقدت الدول الأطراف في اتفاقية حقوق الطفل مؤتمراً اليوم بمقر الأمم المتحدة في نيويورك  بمشاركة دولة فلسطين لأول مرة في أعمال المؤتمر كدولة كاملة الصلاحيات والحقوق والواجبات وفي الانتخابات التي تمت في هذا المؤتمر. وقد شارك السفير الدكتور رياض منصور، المراقب الدائم لدولة فلسطين لدى الأمم المتحدة، في عملية التصويت لإنتخاب تسعة أعضاء في لجنة حقوق الطفل . وما إن وضع السفير منصور ورقة تصويت دولة فلسطين في صندوق الاقتراع، ضجت القاعة بالتصفيق الحاد ولفترة زمنية طويلة وجاء عدد من الوفود لتهنئة وفد فلسطين على مشاركته في هذا المؤتمر25 june 2014 - right of child election

           وشكر السفير منصور رئيسة المؤتمر، المندوبة الدائمة لليبيريا لدى الأمم المتحدة وكذلك ممثلة الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة على ترحيبهما بدولة فلسطين ومشاركتها في أعمال هذا المؤتمر.

           وتجدر الاشارة الى أن اتفاقية حقوق الطفل هي من ضمن الاتفاقيات والمعاهدات الدولية التي انضمت  إليها دولة فلسطين في الأول من ابريل هذا العام

 

 

Filed Under: Press Releases

20 June 2014 – Continuation and Escalation of Israeli Violations

25 June 2014 by

Excellency,

The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate and tensions continue to rise as a result of provocations and illegal actions by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people.  Of grave concern in particular at this time is the precarious condition of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and detention centers, and more specifically Palestinian prisoners who have been on prolonged hunger strike in an expression of collective nonviolent protest against the abusive treatment and deplorable conditions they are being subjected to in Israel’s jails and detention centers and in peaceful demand of their human rights. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Identical Letters

20 June 2014 – بيــان صحفـي

20 June 2014 by

على الرغم من حصول إسرائيل على منصب أحد نواب رئيس اللجنة الرابعة التابعة للجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة والمعنية بالمسائل السياسية الخاصة وإنهاء الإستعمار والتي قامت مجموعة الدول الأوروبية الغربية ودول أخرى بترشيحهالهذا المنصب، إلا أن إسرائيل منيت بهزيمة نكراء في التصويت الذي جرى في الجمعية العامة على هذا الترشيح، والذي تم إجراؤه بناءً على طلب المجموعة العربية، حيث حصلت إسرائيل على 38% فقط من أصوات الدول أي أن ثلثي أعضاء الجمعية العامة رفضوا ترشيح إسرائيل لهذا المنصب وبذلك أكدت الدول في الجمعية العامة على رفضها للإحتلال الإسرائيلي وممثليه وممارساته غير القانونية في الأرض الفلسطينية المحتلة، بما في ذلك القدس الشرقية. وفي هذا الإطار أشاد السفير الدكتور رياض منصور، المراقب الدائم لدولة فلسطين لدى الأمم المتحدة، بمواقف الأغلبية الساحقة من الدول في الأمم المتحدة ضد سياسات إسرائيل وممارساتها العدوانية وغير القانونية ضد الشعب الفلسطيني. وجدير بالذكر أن اللجنة الرابعة تنظر، في جملة أمور، في المسائل المتعلقة بلاجئي فلسطين ووكالة الأونروا وبأعمال اللجنة الخاصة المعنية بالتحقيق في الممارسات الإسرائيلية التي تمس حقوق الإنسان للشعب الفلسطيني وغيره من السكان العرب في الأراضي المحتلة.

وتجدر الإشارة أيضاً إلى أنه على الرغم من الجهود التي بذلت لإقناع مجموعة الدول الأوروبية الغربية ودول أخرى بسحب المرشح الإسرائيلي إلا أنها أصرت عليه ومن ثم وضعت نفسها في هذا الموقف المعزول عبر نتائح التصويت الذي تم إجراؤه لأول مرة في تاريخ الأمم المتحدة علماً أن كافة الترشيحات الأخرى لمناصب مكاتب لجان الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة للدورة التاسعة والستين تمت الموافقة عليها بالإجماع من قبل الجمعية العامة بإستثناء المنصب الذي رشحت له إسرائيل حيث جرى التصويت عليه

Filed Under: Press Releases

17 June 2014 – Recent Israeli Violations

18 June 2014 by

Excellency,

I regret to have to draw your attention to the critical and tense situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – the territory that constitutes the State of Palestine – as a result of Israel’s relentless provocations and illegal actions against the Palestinian people.   Israel continues to carry out grave violations of international law, ranging from the killing and injury of Palestinian civilians by means of excessive force; military raids and mass arrests and detentions, including of children; illegal settlement construction and expansion; demolitions of Palestinian homes and properties, including those belonging to Palestinian Bedouin communities; extrajudicial executions; and incessant provocations and incitement by occupying forces against the Palestinian people and their holy places. These actions have continued and escalated in the recent period, further inflicting loss of life, loss of property and suffering on the Palestinian civilian population as well as threatening to destabilize the already-fragile situation on the ground.

Firstly, I regret to call to your attention the critical and alarming situation of Palestinian political prisoners illegally imprisoned and detained by Israel, the occupying Power, which continues to be grave and warrants immediate attention.  As was mentioned in our letter of 5 June, more than one hundred detainees and prisoners are participating in a hunger strike in peaceful protest of their captivity and the widespread abuses employed against them by the occupying Power and many of them, who have now been on a hunger strike for 55 days, are in serious and critical condition.  This includes many Palestinians who have been held in solitary confinement, another unlawful form of punishment flagrantly used by Israel against Palestinian civilians in its prisons. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Identical Letters

Statement by Ambassador Feda Abdelhady-Nasser, Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the General Assembly High-level Event on the Contributions of Human Rights and Rule of Law in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, New York, 9 -10 June 2014:

10 June 2014 by

 At the outset, I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this “High-Level Event on the Contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Post 2015 Development Agenda”, and to express our appreciation for your active efforts to explore the inter-related aspects relevant to the post-2015 development agenda in a coherent, holistic manner and your strong commitment to promoting sustainable, and attainable, development goals for all.

Mr. President,

The State of Palestine supports the inclusion of the rule of law and respect for human rights as foundational principles in the post-2015 development agenda, based on a profound belief that they are among the main keys to ensuring peaceful, stable, economically and socially-empowered, resilient and prosperous societies.  In the specific case of Palestine, we firmly believe that they also constitute the keys to ending the occupation and injustice the Palestinian people have been subjected to for decades, comprehensively resolving the conflict, achieving freedom, human rights and justice for our people, and establishing peace and security.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Statements